Between flange ball valves with fixed-unstressed seals

ABSTRACT

A ball valve having both upstream and downstream seals and constructed for use between pipe flanges. The valve ball has a diameter, measured along the port therethrough, greater than the valve body and the seals are carried by seat members extending between the end of the body and the flanges to provide compressive loading on the body when the flanges are bolted into operating position.

United States Patent Inventor Domer Searamucci Oklahoma City, Okla.

Appl. No. 518,244

Filed Jan. 3, 1966 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 Assignee Balon CorporationOklahoma City, Okla.

BETWEEN FLANGE BALL VALVES WITH FIXED- UNSTRESSED SEALS 4 Claims, 5Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 137/315, 251/317, 251/363, 251/367 Int. Cl F16k 43/00 F 16k 51/00Field of Search 137/315,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,193,248 7/1965 Lowrey 251/3153,390,861 7/1968 Masheder... 251/315X 2,895,496 7/1959 Sanctuary...137/315 3,157,380 11/1964 Sivyer 251/3l5X Primary Examiner-Alan CohanAssistant Examiner-David'R. Matthews Att0rney-Dunlap, Laney, Hessin &Dougherty ABSTRACT: A ball valve having both upstream and downstreamseals and constructed for use between pipe flanges. The valve ball has adiameter, measured along the port therethrough, greater than the valvebody and the seals are carried by seat members extending between the endof the body and the flanges to provide compressive loading on the bodywhen the flanges are bolted into operating position.

BETWEEN FLANGE BALL VALVES WITH FHXED- UNSTRIESSED SEALS This inventionrelates generally to improved valves. More particularly, but not by wayof limitation, this invention relates to an improved between-flange ballvalve and seat-seal structures therefor.

Manifestly, it is highly desirable in the construction of valves toprovide the maximum flow area through the valve while maintaining thevalve size, both in length and diameter, to a minimum. In themanufacturing of ball valves for use between flanged connecting membersthat have the foregoing desirable features, several problems havearisen.

In addition to the flanged connecting members, the valves include: avalve ball, a valve body, and some form of seal members. The sealmembers are provided to engage the valve member and, thereby preventfluid flow through the valve when the valve is in the closed-position.Normally, the seal members are in the form of annular members that areoften constructed from a resilient material suitable for sealinglyengaging the valve ball. Frequently, annular reinforcing members areprovided to support the seals. The reinforcing members are usuallyconstructed from a rigid material to prevent extrusion of the resilientseal members from the valve when pressure is imposed thereon.

in most between flange ball valves previouslyconstructed, the difficultyof structurally locating the seals, reinforcing members, etc. within thevalve has resulted in a valve of excessive length. The excessive lengthadds cost and weight resulting in a valve that is too expensive and tooheavy to be competitive.

Some attempts have been made to incorporate the annular seal members andthe reinforcing members directly in the valve body. These valves aregenerally expensive to construct since a large amount of machiningmustbe done directly on the valve body. Also, some means must beprovided for introducing the relatively large valve ball into the boreformed in the valve body when the seal members are incorporated as anintegral portion thereof. Generally, the valve body is split or anopening provided in a sidewall thereof through which the valve ball canbe introduced. Manifestly, such construction introduces additionalsealing and manufacturing problems.

Other attempts have been made to construct annular seatseal members thatare installed between the valve body and the flanged connecting members.This type of construction has not proved to be entirely satisfactory dueto the forces exerted thereon when the threaded fasteners connecting theflanged connecting members are tightened. Such forces usually result inthe deformation of the reinforcing members to such an extent that theseals are ineffective or to the extent that the torque required torotate the valve ball in the valve body is excessive.

This invention provides an improved ball valve for use between flangedconnecting members, the ball valve comprising: a valve body having anupstream end face, a downstream end face, and a bore extendingtherethrough intersecting the end faces; a valve ball disposed in thebore, the ball having a port extending therethrough and rotatablebetween an open position wherein the port and bore are aligned and aclosed position wherein the port and bore are disaligned; operatingmeans in the valve operably connected with the ball for rotating theball between the open and closed positions; and, an annuiar seat-sealmember having a first surface arranged to sealingly engage the valveball and a second surface arranged to sealingly engage one of theflanged connecting members; an annular portion of the seat-seal memberbeing disposed between one of the end faces on the valve body and one ofthe flanged connecting members, whereby the force imposed on the annularseat-seal member by the flanged connecting member upon assembly of thevalve is carried by the valve body through the seat-seal member as acompressive force, thereby avoiding distortion of the seat-seal member.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved ball valve for usebetween flanged connecting members that has a maximum flow area to valvesize.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ball valve foruse between flanged connecting members that provides an effectivefluidtight closure of the valve by reinforced seat-seal members.

One other object of the invention is to provide an improved ball valvefor use between flanged connecting members that can be easily andeconomically manufactured.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ball valvefor use between flanged connecting members that provides an effectivefluidtight closure of the valve without exerting undue force on thevalve ball.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved ballvalve for use between flanged connecting members that provides aneffective fluidtight seal with the valve ball and with the flangedconnecting members.

The foregoing and additional objects and advantages of the inventionwill become more apparent as the following detailed description is readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like referencecharacters denote like parts in all views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a ball valve constructed inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating aportion of the ball valve .of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIG.2, but showing the valve in the assembled position with the valve ballrotated to the closed position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIG.2, but illustrating another embodiment of seatseal member that can beutilized in the ball valve of FIG. 1; and,

FlG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of another embodimcnt ofball valve also constructed in accordance with the invention.

EMBODIMENT OF FlG. 1

FIG. 1- illustrates the structure of a ball valve generally designatedby the reference character 10 and constructed in accordance with theinvention. As illustrated therein, the ball valve it) includes a valvebody 12 having an upstream end face M, a downstream end face 16 and. abore 18 extending therethrough intersecting the end faces. It is to benoted that the bore 18 is of constant diameter, thereby reducing themachining performed on the valve body I2 to the minimum.

An opening 2% extends transversely through the valve body 12intersecting the bore 18. The purpose of the transverse opening 20 willbecome apparent as the description proceeds.

An annular upstream seat-seal member 22 is disposed adjacent the endface M of the valve body l2 and an annular downstream seat-seal 24', isdisposed adjacent the downstream end face 16 of the valve body 12. Theupstream and downstream seat-seals 22 and 24 will be described in detailhereinafter.

A flanged upstream connecting member as is disposed adjacent the annularupstream seat-seal 22 and a flanged downstream connecting member 28 isdisposed adjacent the downstream seat-seal 24. Threaded fasteners 3t)extend between the flanged connecting members 26 and 28 to hold the ballvalve 10, that is, the flanged connecting members 26 and 28, theupstream and downstream seat-seals 22 and 24, and the valve body 12assembled. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, threaded nuts 32 and 34 aredisposed on the threaded fasteners 30 in engagement with the upstreamconnecting member 26 and the downstream connecting member 2%,respectively, to securely retain the ball valve it) assembled.

The upstream connecting member 26 includes an end face 36 and apartially threaded opening 33 that extends therethrough intersecting theend face 345. The opening 38 is axially aligned with the bore lb in thevalve body 12 when the upstream connecting member 26 is assembledtherewith.

The downstream connecting member 28 includes an end face 40 and apartially threaded opening 42 that extends therethrough intersecting theend face 40. The opening 42 is also axially aligned with the bore 18 ofthe valve body 12 when the downstream connecting member 28 is assembledwith the valve body 32.

A valve ball 44 is disposed in the bore l8 and has a port 46 extendingtherethrough. it will be noted in FIG. 1, that the ball 44 is larger,with respect to the valve body, than is normally employed, with thediameter of the ball, measured along the port 46, being greater than thelength of the body 12. A rectangular recess 48 is formed in the exteriorof the valve ball 44 and is sized to receive a rectangular end 50 on avalve operating member 52. As will be understood by those skilled in theart, the rectangular recess 48 has a length greater than the length ofthe rectangular end 59 so that the valve ball 44, when in the closedposition, that is, when the port 46 is disaligned with the bore 18, canmove relatively along the bore 18.

The valve operating member 52 also includes an exterior flange 54 thatis in engagement with a downwardly facing shoulder 56 formed in thevalve body 12. The engagement between the flange 54 and the shoulder 56limits the upward movement of the valve operating member 52 relative tothe valve body 12.

An O-ring seal 58 is disposed in an annular recess 60 formed in thevalve operating member 52 forming a fluidtight seal between the valveoperating member 52 and the valve body 12 in the opening 20.

A valve operating handle 62 is connected by a pin 64 with the upper endof the valve operating member 52. The handle 62 includes a lug portion66 that is engageable with a pair of abutments 63 (only abutment 68 isshown in FIG. 1) that are formed on the valve body 12. The engagement ofthe lug portion 66 with the abutments 68 limits the rotational movementof the handle 62, the valve operating member 52 and the interconnectedvalve ball 44 to approximately 90.

The structure of the downstream seat-seal 24 is more clearly shown inthe enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional views of FlGS. 2 and 3. Theseat-seals 22 and 24 are identical in construction though oppositelydisposed in the ball valve and for this reason, only the structure ofthe downstream seat-seal 24 will be described in detail. it will beunderstood that similar portions of the upstream seat-seal 22 will bedesignated by the same reference characters used in describing thedownstream seat-seal 24.

As illustrated in FlG. 2, which shows the various parts in their relaxedcondition, the seat-seal 24 includes a relatively rigid annularreinforcing member '70 having an axial flange portion 72 and a radiallyinwardly extending flange portion 74 formed thereon. The axial flangeportion 72 has an outside diameter sized to fit closely within the bore18 in the valve body 12. The flange portion 74 has a thickness T that ispreferably held to the minimum thickness sufficient to support anannular seal member 76 carried by the reinforcing member 70. Maintainingthe minimum thickness T permits a substantial reduction in the overalllength of the valve 10.

The seal member 76, as previously mentioned, is disposed in thereinforcing member 70 and has a surface 78 thereon configured tosealingly engage the exterior surface of the valve ball 44. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the seal member 76 extends out of the respective end ofthe valve body 12 in order to sealingly engage the ball 44 around therespective end of the port 416 when the valve is open, such that theball 44 may be of the maximum diameter with respect to the length of thevalve body. The seal member '76 is preferably constructed from aresilient material, such as natural or synthetic rubber or from one ofthe synthetic resins.

An end surface 86 on the reinforcing member 70 is defined by the axialflange 72 and the outside diameter of the reinforcing member 70. in thepreferred form of the invention and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the endsurface 80 has an area equal to the end face 16 of the valve body 12.

The reinforcing member 70 also includes an end face 82 that is arrangedto engage the end face 40 on the downstream connecting member 28. Arecess 84 formed in the end face 32 of the reinforcing member 70 has anoutside diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the bore 18 andis provided to receive a resilient annular seal member 86.

As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 86 has a thickness greaterthan the depth of the recess 84 and is disposed in the recess 84 betweenthe reinforcing member 70 and the end face 40 on the downstreamconnecting member 28. Preferably, the seal member 86 has an insidediameter that is substantially equal to the diameter of the opening 42extending through the downstream connecting member 23. However, theinner diameter of the seal member 86 may be equal to but not less thanthe inner diameter of the reinforcing member 70.

The fragmentary cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 illustrates thearrangement of the components of the valve 10 when the nuts 32 and 34are tightened on the threaded fasteners 30. As shown therein, thesurface on the reinforcing member 70 tightly and sealingly engages theend face 16 of the valve body l2. The end face 40 on the downstreamconnecting member 28 is in engagement with the end face 82 of thereinforcing member 70 deforming the seal member 86 into tight sealingengagement with the reinforcing member 70. It will be noted, that thesmall amount of deformation of the seal member 86 is suflicient to forma fluidtight seal between the seat-seal 24 and the flanged connectingmember 28, but does not exert a force thereon sufficient to distort ordeform the flange portion 74 of the reinforcing member 70.

As also illustrated in FIG. 3, the valve ball 44 has been rotated to theclosed position, that is, to the position wherein the port 46 extendingtherethrough is disaligned with the bore 18. The valve ball 44 movestoward the seal member 76 to the extent allowed by the compression ordeformation of the seal member 76. Thus, it can be seen that afluidtight downstream seal is formed in the ball valve 10 between theexterior surface of the valve ball 44 and the surface 78 on the sealmember 76, between the end face 16 of the valve body 12 and the surface80 on the reinforcing member 70, and between the reinforcing member 70and the downstream connecting member 23 by the deformation of the sealmember 86.

It can also be seen by comparing F165. 2 and 3 that the force exerted onthe valve ball 44 by the seal member 76 is limited due to the engagementof the surface 89 on the seatseal 24 with the end face 16 of the valvebody i2. Furthermore, the seal between the valve ball 44 and the sealmember 76 remains effective since the deformation of the seal member 86does not exert sufficient force on the flange portion 74 of thereinforcing member 70 to deform the seat-seal 24. Avoiding deformationof the flange portion 74 eliminates any possibility of binding the valveball 44 thereby permitting the valve ball 44 to be rotated easily in alloperating positions thereof.

As may also be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the force exerted by the assemblyof the flanged connecting members 26 and 28 with the valve body 12 iscarried by the valve body 12 as a pure compression load through theseat-seal members 22 and 24. More specifically, the arrows illustratedin HO. 3 shown the imposition of the load from the end face 40 of thedownstream connecting member 28 on the end face 82 of the reinforcingmember 70. it will be apparent therein that such load is transferreddirectly by the surface 80 on the reinforcing member 70 to the end face16 of the valve body 12. Thus, all of the load exerted by the flangedthreaded fasteners 30 on the valve 10 is carried by the valve body E2with the exception of the small force resulting from deformation of theseal member 86.

EMBODiMENT OF FlG. 4

The enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view of HO. 4 illustratesanother embodiment of annular seat-seal member generally designated bythe reference character 90 and also constructed in accordance with theinvention. The seat-seal 90 is illustrated as being positioned in theball valve 10.

The seat-seal member 90 includes a reinforcing member 92 having an axialflange portion 94, and a radially, inwardly extending flange portion 96.An end face 98, defined by the axial flange 94, is arranged to engagethe end face 16 on the valve body H2 in a manner similarto theengagement between the surface 530 of the seat-seal 2d and the end face16 of the valve body 12. r

The reinforcing member 92 also includes a surface 100 disposed adjacentthe end face 40 of the downstream connecting member 28. An annularrecess 102 is formed in the surface 100 and has an outside diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the bore 18 in the valve body 12.The recess 102 is provided to receive the seal member 86. The recess 102is not as deep as the thickness of the seal member 86 so that the sealmember 86 is deformed when the downstream connecting member 28 istightly assembled with the valve body 12.

The annular seat-seal 90 also includes the annular seal member 76. Theseal member 76 is positioned in the reinforcing member 92 so that thesurface 78 thereon sealingly engages the valve ball 4,4.

An annular groove 104 is formed in the outer periphery of the axialflange 94 adjacent the valve body 12 in the bore 18. An O-ring seal 106is located in the groove 104i and sealingly engages the axial flange 94and the valve body 12 in the bore 1%. The provision of the O-ring seal106 eliminates the necessity for forming a fluidtight seal between theend face 16 of the valve body 12 and the end face 98 on the seat-sealmember 90.

As will be readily apparent from viewing FIG. 4, the ball valve with theseat-seal member 90 located therein operates in precisely the samemanner as the ball valve 10 with the seat-seals 22 and 24 locatedtherein. Also, it will be evident that the same advantages exist whenthe valve 10 is provided with the seat-seal member 90.

EMBODIMENT OF H6. 5

The fragmentary view of H6. 5 illustrates the structure of a ball valvegenerally designated by the reference character 10a and also constructedin accordance with the invention. The ball valve 10a includes a valvebody lllitl having an end face M2 that is in engagement with the endface 36 on the upstream connecting member 26 and an end face 114 that isin engagement with the surface 00 of the downstream seat-seal member 24.

As previously described in connection with the embodiment of HG. 1, theend face 40 of thedownstream connecting member 28 is in engagement withthe end face 82 of the seatseal member 24. The threaded fasteners 30extend through the flanged connecting member 26 and 28 and are providedwith the nuts 32 and 34, as previously described to hold the valve 10aassembled.

A bore lilo extends through the valve body 110 intersecting the endfaces M2 and lid. A counterbore 118 is formed in the bore 111% formingan inwardly projecting flange portion 120 in the valve body 110. Asecond counterbore 122 is formed in the valve body 110 to enlarge thebore 116 to a size sufficient to receive the valve ball 44.

An annularresilient seal member 124 is positioned in the counterbore1118 and has a surface 126 thereon configured to sealingly engage theexterior of the valve ball 44. An annular seal member 1128 is positionedin an annular recess 130 formed in the end face 112 of the valve body110 and is arranged to sealingly engage the end face 36 of the upstreamconnecting member 26 and the flange portion 120 on the valve body M0.

it will be understood that the ball valve 10a includes the necessaryoperating components (not illustrated) as previously described inconnection with the ball valve it).

it will also be evident from viewing Fit]. 5 that the operation of theball valve 100 is identical to the operation of the ball valve 10.

While the ball valve 10a is somewhat more difficult to construct due tothe machining necessary to form the valve body 110, it is important tonote that the load imposed on the ball valve 10a by the flangedconnecting members 26 and 28 is transmitted through the ,valve body as apure compressive load as previously described in connection with theball valve 10. Also, the ball valve 10a may be quickly and easilyassembled since the downstream seat-seal member 24 can be positioned inthe valve body ll0 after the valve ball 44 and the seal member 124 havebeen inserted therein.

From the foregoing detailed descriptions of the various embodiments, itcan be seen that a ball valve constructed in accordance with theinvention provides a structure including effective sealing members thatare adequately reinforced without the usual excessive overall length ofthe valve. Also, the structure described provides for the .directtransferrance of the forces exerted by the flanged connecting members tothe valve body, thus avoiding deformation of the reinforcing memberand/or seals and the consequent loss of effective sealing or binding ofthe valve ball that would otherwise occur.

it will be understood that the embodiments described hereinbefore arepresented by way of example only and that many changes and modificationscan be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the inventionor from the scope of the annexed claims.

lclaim:

1. A ball valve comprising:

a valve body having an upstream end face, a downstream end face, and abore extending therethrough intersecting said end faces;

a valve ball disposed in said bore, said ball having a port extendingtherethrough and rotatable between an open position wherein said portand bore are aligned to a closed position wherein said port and bore aredisaligned, the diameter of said ball measured along said port, beinggreater than the length of said body;

operating means in said valve operably connected with said ball forrotating said ball between said open and closed positions;

a pair of flanged connecting members, each having an end face thereonand an opening extending therethrough intersecting said end face, theend faces being disposed v relatively adjacent the end faces on saidvalve body with said openings aligned with said bore;

an annular seat-seal member at each end of the valve body, each havingan axial flange portion extending into said bore and carrying a firstseal on one side thereof extending partially in and partially out of therespective end of the valve body and arranged to sealingly engage saidvalve ball, a second seal on the opposite side thereof sealinglyengaging a respective end face on one of said connecting members andhaving an outer diameter substantially equal to the diameter of saidbore, said annular seat seal member having an annular portion extendingoutwardly and disposed between and in engagement with one of the endfaces on said valve body and the end face on one of said connectingmembers; and,

connecting means extending between the flanges on said connectingmembers for assembling said valve, said connecting means exerting aforce on said connecting members that is carried as a compressive loadby said valve body through the annular portion of said seat-sealmembers, thereby avoiding distortion of said seat-seal members.

2. The ball valve of claim 1 wherein each of said seat-seal membersincludes an axial flange portion having an outside diameter sized to fitwithin said bore to align said seat-seal member with said valve body.

3. The ball valve of claim 2 and also including:

an annular groove in said axial flange adjacent said valve body in saidbore; and an annular seal in said groove in sealing engagement with saidseat-seal member and said valve body.

4. The ball valve of claim 2 wherein each said seat-seal adjacent one ofthe connecting members and having an membel'mcludesi outside diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of a first annular recess in saidseat-seal member adjacent said id b d valve 5 a second resilient annularseal member disposed in said afirst resilient annular seal memberdisposed in said first an- 5 Cond annular recess seafin l en ne of thnular recess and having a surface thereon in sealing en- Se g y g 0 cflanged connecting members. gagernent with said valve member, a secondannular recess in said seat-seal member disposed

1. A ball valve comprising: a valve body having an upstream end face, adownstream end face, and a bore extending therethrough intersecting saidend faces; a valve ball disposed in said bore, said ball having a portextending therethrough and rotatable between an open position whereinsaid port and bore are aligned to a closed position wherein said portand bore are disaligned, the diameter of said ball measured along saidport, being greater than the length of said body; operating means insaid valve operably connected with said ball for rotating said ballbetween said open and closed positions; a pair of flanged connectingmembers, each having an end face thereon and an opening extendingtherethrough intersecting said end face, the end faces being disposedrelatively adjacent the end faces on said valve body with said openingsaligned with said bore; an annular seat-seal member at each end of thevalve body, each having an axial flange portion extending into said boreand carrying a first seal on one side thereof extending partially in andpartially out of the respective end of the valve body and arranged tosealingly engage said valve ball, a second seal on the opposite sidethereof sealingly engaging a respective end face on one of saidconnecting members and having an outer diameter substantially equal tothe diameter of said bore, said annular seat seal member having anannular portion extending outwardly and disposed between and inengagement with one of the end faces on said valve body and the end faceon one of said connecting members; and, connecting means extendingbetween the flanges on said connecting members for assembling saidvalve, said connecting means exerting a force on said connecting membersthat is carried as a compressive load by said valve body through theannular portion of said seat-seal members, thereby avoiding distortionof said seat-seal members.
 2. The ball valve of claim 1 wherein each ofsaid seat-seal members includes an axial flange portion having anoutside diameter sized to fit within said bore to align said seat-sealmember with said valve body.
 3. The ball valve of claim 2 and alsoincluding: an annular groove in said axial flange adjacent said valvebody in said bore; and an annular seal in said groove in sealingengagement with said seat-seal member and said valve body.
 4. The ballvalve of claim 2 wherein each said seat-seal member includes: a firstannular recess in said seat-seal member adjacent said valve ball; afirst resilient annular seal member disposed in said first annularrecess and having a surface thereon in sealing engagement with saidvalve member; a second annular recess in said seat-seal member disposedadjacent one of the connecting members and having an outside diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of said bore; and a second resilientannular seal member disposed in said second annular recess sealinglyengaging one of the flanged connecting members.